~defy~

It's empty in the valley of your heart,

The sun, it rises slowly as you walk,

Away from all the fears,

And all the faults you've left behind…

The smell of sweat and excitement drifted in the air as Sam swayed along to the beat that pounded from the speakers. It was the next night and he had asked Michael to take him to the pier once more. At first his brother was reluctant, what with the episode from the night before; but with the promise that if anything happened they'd go home, he agreed. A heavily muscled man owned the stage, playing his saxophone as if he'd die if he didn't and Sam couldn't help the way that his body was moving with the crowd around him.

Bodies swayed back and forth, twirling and twisting, and he honestly couldn't tell just why his body swirled around the way it was. Beside him the taller boy was looking at him in amusement, fighting the instincts to dance that Sam wasn't. "You are something else Sammie." He flashed the older boy a grin and a wink as he rotated his hips, raising his arms above his head. Apparently he did something wrong because Michael snuffed out a cackle of laughter and he stopped what he was doing.

"What?" He demanded as the snorts and muffled laughter continued to escape his brothers' throat. Michael grinned widely at the question before shaking his head, not feeling the least bit guilty of making Sam feel so self-conscious, "What it is Mikey?" Sighing heavily he just turned back to the stage when the older refused to answer, "Whatever." All around him the crowd continued to move in what could be considered sinful ways, but he refused to go back to his earlier dancing; for now he was determined to just enjoy the atmosphere.

After a few moments he turned to his brother, ready to leave the auditorium and to find something to eat. Michael was looking away from the stage and up through the crowd, completely ignoring his surroundings. Confused to the way he was acting, Sam turned and searched the stands for whatever it was that had the dark haired boy so entranced. There on one of the sound out-cropping's stood a girl with long wavy brown hair and ebony black eyes. At her side stood a young boy with shaggy cinnamon hair that wore a jean jacket.

"Michael, I don't think she's..." He muttered as the usual white of his visions flashed behind his eyes, his hand coming up to grip the shoulder of Michael's jacket so that he wouldn't fall. Worry came to Michael's face as he wrapped his arm around Sam's waist, pulling him close to that he wouldn't collapse again, "Don't mess with her Mike, she's bad news." His brother only nodded down at him, but he could tell that Michael didn't fully believe what he was saying. After all, his visions weren't always trust worthy.

"Come on let's go get you something to eat. You wanna head home?" A quick jolt of fear raced up his spine as Sam shook his head in the negative, "Alright, we'll walk around some more, but if you have another vision Sammie…" He left the threat hanging, but he knew that the younger understood. They were soon seated at one of the many picnic tables on the edge of the pier, with burgers and fries laid out in front of them. "If we hurry we can actually check out the game booths tonight." With a nod, Sam picked up a few fries and fed himself.

As he took a sip of his diet coke, goose bumps rose along his flesh as the feeling of someone watching him rose in his chest. It's him. Glancing up from the table, his eyes locked with the hazel eyed man of the night before. He stood leaning against the railing of the pier. Tonight he had the three other boys surrounding him, a long haired blonde dressed in ripped red pants and a baggy loose shirt, the smallest one with blonde curly hair wearing brightly colored clothing, and what looked to be the leader with spiked blonde hair and foreboding blue eyes. It seemed as if they were scoping out something; what that would be Sam hadn't a clue, but it had to be important.

At that moment, the girl from earlier twirled by their table purposefully drawing Michael's attention and breaking the gaze that Sam held. He watched as his brother stared after her and as he made to get up Sam gripped onto his wrist tightly, "Mike. I know that my visions aren't exactly reliable…" He trailed off as if to gather his thoughts and to decide on the best use of words, "I saw that if you went with her… She'd seduce then murder you Mike." Michael's eyes went wide at what he was telling him, clouding with doubt and worry, "Please Mike."

Slowly, the older boy sank back down into his seat staring balefully at the rest of his uneaten food, "You're completely sure?" It took him a moment, but Sam nodded at his brother in complete confidence, "You've been having a lot of episodes lately Sammie, but I trust you." The grin that split across his mouth was sure to crack his face, but Michael just gave a small smile back before going back to his food. Sam knew that it seemed that he was just trying to keep the older from having fun, so obviously Michael would be disappointed. The vision that he'd had though; Sam shivered before looking back to the railing of the pier.

A sigh escaped his mouth when he found that the group of boys had disappeared. As he went back to his food it suddenly felt like someone was digging into his jacket pocket and Sam quickly looked down to see a tanned hand retreating. Glancing up he watched as the hazel eyed man walked away without looking back. A tap on his shoulder had him turning back around to find Michael looking at him curiously, "It's nothing. I thought that I saw mom." At the nod he received, Sam reached into his pocket and pulled out a small piece of paper from his pocket. Unfolding it he forced himself not to smile.

Dwayne

"What's with the look?" The question brought him crashing down to earth as his wide eyes shot up to look at an amused looking Michael. Sam laughed albeit a bit nervously as he shoved the slip of paper back into his pocket. He shrugged helplessly and all his brother did was grin and chuckle, "Someone looks like they have a crush." A small blush lit upon his features as the embarrassment rose to the surface.

Making sure that he wasn't going to be over heard he hissed, "I don't even know the guy first and foremost!" The shocked look on Michael's face was enough to make him smile widely; it was always nice to have an upper hand to his brother. It took long moments before the curly haired boy blinked and then burst into laughter. Rolling his eyes Sam stood from the table and gathered up all of his trash, walking away swiftly causing Michael to rush after him, "I saw one of the games yesterday where you can win a huge stuffed dog. I'm gonna try to get it."

The amused snort that followed after him did nothing to ruin his re-found excitement as he led their way through the crowded boardwalk. They broke out of the crowd as they reached a set of stairs that led down to the sand of the beach and Sam could see the game booths that were just a little further up the pier. He was just about to start towards them when that chill of being watched crawled across his back. Glancing to the left he found the hazel eyed man, Dwayne, sitting on his bike with the others around him. His felt the smoldering eyes run over him as he stood stock still.

That was until Michael grabbed his elbow to pull him forward; never noticing the group that seemed to watch them. Just before he was pulled back into the crowd he raised his hand and quickly waved to Dwayne, just being able to see the corners of his lips quirk upwards. When the man was out of his sight, Sam couldn't help the wide smile that took over his face; the giddy feeling in his chest involuntary. "Which one did you want?" His blue eyes looked up to see that they were standing in front of the game booth he had mentioned.

When his eyes fell on the large over stuffed panda with a green bow around its neck, the excitement from before bled into his features as he gripped Michael's arm and pointed excitedly, "That one!" His brother looked up from the actual game to the prize and his eyes widened before he looked to Sam in exasperation, "I know I said a dog, but look at how cute it is! How could I not at least try?" The older rolled his eyes in amusement and pulled out his wallet. They both tried to knock down the bottles that seemed to either be weighted down or glued together and ended up wasting fifteen dollars on the game.

Finally with a sigh of defeat Sam told the taller boy to put away his wallet and mentioned that he wanted something for dessert. Michael nodded even though he still eyed the panda with a look that clearly stated that this wasn't over. Chuckling softly he took hold of the boys arm and walked them back the way they came, heading towards the ice cream parlor beside the parking lot. When they finally made it to the shop, Sam's eyes widened at all of the different flavors; and after thinking over each one carefully he chose the black cherry sorbet.

The clerk handed him the medium cup of sorbet and Michael grimaced at it, "If I didn't know better I'd say that was frozen blood." Sam eyed his treat with risen eyebrows and yes he did have to admit that if you had a really twisted mind, like his brother, he supposed it did look a bit like frozen blood. As soon as the older boy had paid they made their way to the benches just outside of the store and sat down to watch the crowd rush by as they finished their ice cream.

"Thanks for bringing me down here again," Michael only nodded his answer as he had a mouth full of the frozen treat, "Do you think we can come back tomorrow night? There's still a lot of stuff to check out. I bet it'll take a month to see everything, or more!" He grinned when his brother snorted and just nodded again. Content with the fact that he was going to see the mysterious Dwayne again tomorrow, Sam quieted down as he leaned back against the bench.

Once the door of the house was gently shut, Sam ran up the stairs as quietly as possible so that he could jump in bed. After they'd finished their sorbet, they agreed to check out the comic book shop and the piercing station by the movie rental store, before they headed home. By the time they were in the drive he was physically and mentally exhausted; yet he was so excited to go back tomorrow.

When he stepped into his room he almost screamed at the shadowed figure on his bed, but bit his tongue as to not wake anyone up. He slowly closed the door behind him before he whispered, "Hello?" His voice shook nervously as a slight fear rose within him. Nothing answered his inquiry and he carefully reached for the light switch on the wall; and with a click the room was illuminated in artificial light.

The figure on the bed didn't even flinch and when he saw just who or what it was a wide grin lit up his features as his eyes softened. There in the middle of the bed sat the very panda he had tried so hard to win. It didn't take five seconds of thought to have the suspicion as to who had brought it; with that same grin he fingered the paper in his pocket.

The harvest left no food for you to eat,

You cannibal, you meat-eater, you see,

But I have seen the same,

I know the shame in your defeat…

~defy~